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advice for newbie


Neil McFarlane

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Hi, I'm about to solo pilot a 22-foot GRP boat on a 2-week journey along the Trent and various canals. Never done anything more than row a boat before.

 

Could I have some tips for a total newbie to help me complete my journey without mishaps?

 

E.g. drive on the right. (That's about my level.)

 

Maybe you can remember when you were a newbie and think of things you wish people had told you then.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Neil McFarlane said:

Maybe you can remember when you were a newbie and think of things you wish people had told you then.

Have you got the correct windlass, keys etc for the locks ?

Have you got mooring pins, nappy pins and / or goat chains and plenty of ropes to tie up ?

Have you got spare parts for the engine, etc. Not may places to get parts if you break down.

Is it a petrol engine ? Plan your re-fueling stops, there are very few places that sell petrol on the river or canals. You will need cans and to walk to the nearest petrol station.

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1 minute ago, Neil McFarlane said:

Actually I have a choice of tidal route or non-tidal route. Would the tidal route be very unwise for a total newbie?

Its not the greatest idea for a first trip.

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Where exactly are you going from/to? As @mrsmelly says tidal isn't the best idea for a first trip.

1 minute ago, Neil McFarlane said:

Is that because I'd want to time the tides and it could get complicated or because it can be a struggle to control in the strong currents?

All that. Extra complication you don't need right now. Especially on a boat you don't know the reliability of. Engine failure on a tidal river can get pretty scary fast.

Jen

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3 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Where exactly are you going from/to? As @mrsmelly says tidal isn't the best idea for a first trip.

All that. Extra complication you don't need right now. Especially on a boat you don't know the reliability of. Engine failure on a tidal river can get pretty scary fast.

Jen

Lincoln to Macclesfield, either clockwise or anti-clockwise around the Peak District.

 

Engine failure - hadn't even thought about that. Do river boats have anchors? What do you do in a strong current if the engine conks out.

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11 minutes ago, Neil McFarlane said:

Lincoln to Macclesfield, either clockwise or anti-clockwise around the Peak District.

 

Engine failure - hadn't even thought about that. Do river boats have anchors? What do you do in a strong current if the engine conks out.

Clockwise for preference. Lincoln to Torksey on the Fossdyke. Torksey to Cromwell Lock on the tidal Trent. It is relatively tame this far up stream. Take advice from the lock keeper at Torksey on time to travel. Non tidal Trent from Cromwell to Nottingham. Canal through Nottingham. Non tidal Trent to Derwent Mouth. Trent and Mersey Canal to Stoke on Trent. Turn on to the Macclesfield canal to Macc the other side of Harecastle Tunnel.

 

Yes boats on rivers should have anchors. Stops you being swept away to your doom while you sort out the dead engine.

 

Not sure if it is possible to reach Macclesfield on the canal at the moment as there are restrictions. Do you have any guide books, or canal maps at all? Go to the Canal River Trust boaters guides. Download guides for the Fossdyke, River Trent, Trent & Mersey Canal and Macclesfield Canal. Will give current stoppages, phone numbers to book passage and so on.

 

Going anticlockwise means doing the more hard core bit of the tidal Trent, plus the cross Pennine routes are mostly closed, along with the Peak Forest canal.

I'm assuming you've worked out insurance, license etc. Some places will check you have a license and won't let you through without.

 

Good luck with the trip.

 

Jen

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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4 minutes ago, mark99 said:

What is the boat called and where did you buy it from. Why are you moving it? Let's first see if you are real or this is a total wind up. 

Mark, I'm posting here for some advice. I have no idea why you replied in that way. Feel free to not reply if for some reason you think I'm "not real".

11 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Clockwise for preference. Lincoln to Torksey on the Fossdyke. Torksey to Cromwell Lock on the tidal Trent. It is relatively tame this far up stream. Take advice from the lock keeper at Torksey on time to travel. Non tidal Trent from Cromwell to Nottingham. Canal through Nottingham. Non tidal Trent to Derwent Mouth. Trent and Mersey Canal to Stoke on Trent. Turn on to the Macclesfield canal to Macc the other side of Harecastle Tunnel.

 

Yes boats on rivers should have anchors. Stops you being swept away to your doom while you sort out the dead engine.

 

Not sure if it is possible to reach Macclesfield on the canal at the moment as there are restrictions. Do you have any guide books, or canal maps at all? Go to the Canal River Trust boaters guides. Download guides for the Fossdyke, River Trent, Trent & Mersey Canal and Macclesfield Canal. Will give current stoppages, phone numbers to book passage and so on.

 

Going anticlockwise means doing the more hard core bit of the tidal Trent, plus the cross Pennine routes are mostly closed, along with the Peak Forest canal.

I'm assuming you've worked out insurance, license etc. Some places will check you have a license and won't let you through without.

 

Good luck with the trip.

 

Jen

Thanks Jen, I already have insurance and license sorted. Didn't know there were downloadable guides - thanks for that - really useful. With dropping an anchor, I assume it can be dangerous to do so in a strong current. (I just did a quick google search and found stories of it sinking a boat if you do it wrong : (

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11 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

 

Going anticlockwise means doing the more hard core bit of the tidal Trent, plus the cross Pennine routes are mostly closed, along with the Peak Forest canal.

 

Only way over the Pennines would be the Leeds and Liverpool when it opens in July with Calder and Hebble shut all year. Very long way around.

 

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43 minutes ago, Neil McFarlane said:

Actually I have a choice of tidal route or non-tidal route. Would the tidal route be very unwise for a total newbie?

What spare engine parts would you recommend?

 

you could join RCR river and canal repair/rescuehttps://www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk/

https://www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk/

 

Delrosa Built by John Freeman in 1961 - Length : 6.7 metres ( 22 feet ) - Beam : 2.08 metres ( 6 feet 10 inches )
Powered by an Inboard Petrol engine with a power of 10 HP. Registered with Canal & River Trust number 12992 as a Powered Motor Boat.  ( Last updated on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 )

Edited by LadyG
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When are you planning to do this trip? If the boat isn't your current home then, unless you name is really Dominic Cummings, current lock down rules say you can't stay on board overnight. If it isn't going to be for a while I'd suggest going for a pootle up and down the Fossdyke and River Witham to get a feel for the boat and enigine reliability.

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3 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

When are you planning to do this trip? If the boat isn't your current home then, unless you name is really Dominic Cummings, current lock down rules say you can't stay on board overnight. If it isn't going to be for a while I'd suggest going for a pootle up and down the Fossdyke and River Witham to get a feel for the boat and enigine reliability.

In a couple of weeks the boat will become "my current home". I don't know the exact details of rules on boats re lockdown, but if I don't live on the boat soon, I won't be living anywhere else. Also I work in a hospital on covid wards, so maybe that will make a difference, I don't know. Otherwise, if I find I am breaking the rules, as long as the authorities treat me with the same unbending rigidity that they treated Cummings, then I won't have much to worry about!

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1 minute ago, Neil McFarlane said:

In a couple of weeks the boat will become "my current home". I don't know the exact details of rules on boats re lockdown, but if I don't live on the boat soon, I won't be living anywhere else. Also I work in a hospital on covid wards, so maybe that will make a difference, I don't know. Otherwise, if I find I am breaking the rules, as long as the authorities treat me with the same unbending rigidity that they treated Cummings, then I won't have much to worry about!

Just tell 'em you're checking that you can clearly see the signs...

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18 minutes ago, LadyG said:

you could join RCR river and canal repair/rescuehttps://www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk/

https://www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk/

 

Delrosa Built by John Freeman in 1961 - Length : 6.7 metres ( 22 feet ) - Beam : 2.08 metres ( 6 feet 10 inches )
Powered by an Inboard Petrol engine with a power of 10 HP. Registered with Canal & River Trust number 12992 as a Powered Motor Boat.  ( Last updated on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 )

That's the one!

 

That rivercanalrescue service looks interesting. I might go for that for the first year, at least until I get to know the boat and engine better.

Just now, WotEver said:

Just tell 'em you're checking that you can clearly see the signs...

Would it be convincing if I'm not towing my infant son in a dinghy behind?

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1 minute ago, Neil McFarlane said:

Would it be convincing if I'm not towing my infant son in a dinghy behind?

No, you need to do that too.  Plus be in the company of an infected lady friend.

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Once you have had a few pootling trips (don't forget to buy fresh petrol, not old stuff), and are kitted out with WD40, spare plugs and plug spanner, lifejacket etc, torch, mobile phone, guide for route, flask of coffee, snacks, set off in good weather.

Assuming you have licence and insurance you can advise/ask Canal and River Trust for permission to move to your Home Mooring.

PS I assume you have a Boat Safety Certificate.

PPS others will advise, but with petrol engines, you must be careful to buy equipment that will not spark, and ignite the fuel, eg. "additions" to the boat after the Boat safety examination

Edited by LadyG
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9 hours ago, Neil McFarlane said:

. (I just did a quick google search and found stories of it sinking a boat if you do it wrong : (

Most unlikely! 

Don't forget to tie bitter end to a strong point ?

Edited by LadyG
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A few more bits of advice on doing the river sections.

On bends, the inside of the bend is more likely to be shallow than the outside. Therefore, you don't cut the corner, despite how tempting it might be, but go round the outside of the bend, from the centre outwards, Obviously, you'll still be passing any other boat you meet on the right. When the weather is wet, the river can flood. On the non tidal sections of the Trent, the locks have marker boards, coloured green, amber and red. When the level is in the green all is well. In the amber, proceed with caution. In the red, don't proceed. An insurance company may not pay out if you were to sink after going with the river on red. The Trent has been very low recently, but the rain over the last few weeks will have taken it up a bit, but probably won't be a problem on your trip. For your trip you will need a Watermate key, ortherwise known as a BW key, or Sanitary key. IT is used to operate some locks and to get access to sanitary stations and other boater facilities. You shouldn't need a handcuff key on your trip. Also check you've got the other bits that @Alan de Enfield goes through in post #3.

The locks up to Nottingham will be keeper operated during daylight hours, but from Nottingham on you'll have to do them yourself. Lock sizes vary a lot in this trip. From the big keeper operated Trent locks, to the 14' wide locks of the lower Trent and Mersey, to the 70 x 7' narrow locks of the rest of the T&M and the Macc. smaller as you go upstream. If sharing a 14' wide lock with a steel narrowboat, let them go in first, then enter when their boat is under control. A steel boat can accidentally crush a plastic one.

 

Jen

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In the current circumstances, added to your clear lack of experience, and unknown qualities of the boat, then having the boat transported by road, makes a great deal of sense.

Cost wise, it might not be very different.  Much quicker, be done in a day, leaving you time at the new mooring, to get to know the boat in more comfortable surroundings.

 

Bod

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Is your boat narrow beam (6-10).If it is a Freeman,they made very few narrow beams.The usual Freemans were 7-6.

This may limit you to wider canals.

As for spares,tools,spark plug,spare throttle cable,gears are usually a pole sticking up through the floor.

The narrow beam Freemans had a weed hatch,if yours hasn't,then I don't know how you would clear the prop.

Wet suit and snorkel??

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29 minutes ago, Bod said:

In the current circumstances, added to your clear lack of experience, and unknown qualities of the boat, then having the boat transported by road, makes a great deal of sense.

Cost wise, it might not be very different.  Much quicker, be done in a day, leaving you time at the new mooring, to get to know the boat in more comfortable surroundings.

 

Bod

Especially since you can't go up the Bosley lock flight between Congleton and Macc at the moment anyway. Closed due to lack of water. A small boat like this won't need a big lorry, or crane and will be easier and cheaper to lift and transport than many boats. No idea where, but it may be possible to get the boat dropped in on the upper level of the Macc, near to Macclesfield. No idea on suitable lift out/drop in points, or haulage contractors. Others can recommend if you are interested in this approach.

Doing the trip by boat will be a good adventure and will probably go fine, but a lift out and road transport will be quicker and not such a steep boating learning curve.

 

Jen

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